As Canisius High School, the standard for the sports teams is exceedingly high. Just look up on the wall in the gym inside the Kennedy Field House. The championship banners cover the place, like winning wallpaper.
The Crusaders won the Supremacy Cup, awarded to the school with the most titles in the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association, 10 straight times from 2014-23. Their arch rival, St. Joe’s, took the cup last season, but Canisius is on track to reclaim it, having captured seven titles already this school year.
No program is quite so celebrated in modern times as the basketball team. Last Saturday, Canisius won its 11th Manhattan Cup title in 21 years under head coach Kyle Husband. They have won three state Catholic championships, the last in 2022, and might have won a fourth if Covid hadn’t intervened in 2020.
“I expect to win every year,” said Husband, now 429-124 in 21 seasons. He’s second to Mel Palano is league wins and first in Manhattan Cups. “That’s my expectation. We work really hard all-year round. I’m really proud of what we’ve built through 21 years. When you come here to be a student-athlete and a basketball player, they understand that championships are what we strive for.”When you fall short, the disappointment lingers a little longer. After winning that state title in 2022, the Crusaders lost to Bishop Timon in the Manhattan Cup final two years running. By Canisius standards, it seemed like a drought,
“When you win, there’s no better feeling,” said senior guard Joey Esposito, the only Crusader who played on the 2022 state champs. “When you lose, it’s really rock bottom. That’s why we work so hard to win those championships. From day one, we talked about being one unit and playing together. When one of us makes a bad play or something, everyone else has each other’s back.”
Husband says every champion needs to survive adversity. He said losing those two titles to Timon made the seniors on this year’s group all the more hungry. Esposito and the rest of the seniors were determined to hang another Manhattan Cup banner on that wall — and maybe another state title as well.
They faced adversity in last week’s Cup title game, largely of their own doing. The Crusaders led by 12 points early in the fourth quarter, but a gutsy St. Joe’s team battled back to tie the game and force OT. Canisius was staggered, but rode defense and rebounding to a 51-49 win —an amazing 2-0 shutout in overtime.
A lot of teams would have folded after blowing a big lead in the big game. But Husband’s teams have a way of rising up in difficult circumstances. The seniors didn’t come this far to lose. They had each other’s backs.
“We knew it was a big game, an extra four minutes,” said senior center Patrick Enright. “We wouldn’t want it any other way. We handle pressure well, we knew going into OT we just have to give it all for our four minutes and we came away with a win.”
Now they’re two wins away from a state championship. On Friday at 4 p.m., Canisius (22-4) meets St. Anthony’s (23-3) in the Catholic schools Class A state semifinal at Christ the King High in Queens. A win moves them to the state title game at 1 on Saturday at Fordham University against St. John’s Prep (24-3).
This team isn’t quite as talented as the ’22 squad, but it could be Husband’s toughest and most cohesive. Seniors Nick Purdie (16.3 ppg) and Patrick Cullinan (14.8) are the top scorers and all-Catholic stars. But it’s Enright and point guard Jahyden Clark, both of whom starred on the Crusaders’ football state finalist, who are the competitive heart and soul. Esposito played only nine games this season due to injury, but made some critical plays off the bench last Saturday.
“I’m certainly proud of Patrick Cullinan and Nick Purdie for first team all-Catholic,” Husband said. “But Johnny Esposito, hurt so much of this year and just a die-hard basketball kid who gives it his all, came in at the end, came off the bench which he probably wasn’t expected to. Big play after big play.
“Those two football guys are maybe our most valuable players, because of what they bring — defensively, making big passes. My son who is in seventh grade said, ‘Jahyden always passes up that open shot’. I said, ‘Yeah, because he understands who he is and that’s what makes us so great’.”
Talent can take a basketball team only so far. Teamwork, selfless play and knowing your role is what separates good teams from champions. It also doesn’t hurt to have the gritty competitive mentality of Enright and Clark, two Division I football recruits. Enright, a lineman who cleared the way for star running back Elijah Kimble, is headed to Holy Cross. Clark, who starred at receiver and cornerback, said he’s deciding between Stetson and Buffalo.
“Football helps us physically,” said Clark, who leads the Crusaders in assists and steals. “We come and set the tone, on the defensive end, doing all the little things, diving on the ground, getting the rebound. We set the tone for the team.”
Clark said he came to Canisius because of the high standard, because he wanted to win championship rings. When victory is an expectation, not a wish, it comes with pressure. But these kids don’t see the high expectations as any burden.
“Not at all,” said the 6-5 Enright, whose defense against St. Joe’s star Nate Blenman was crucial in the Cup finale. “I think pressure is a privilege. Definitely. Pressure is more fun. It means people are going to notice you. People pay attention to you. Pressure is never a bad thing.”
You don’t win 11 league championships, and an average of 20 games a season, by falling to pieces in a crisis. That harrowing finish against St. Joe’s was an epic crisis, but this is what you prepare for. You know what they say, how what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. His seniors knew their roles and survived.
“There’s always little pieces,” Husband said, "but that fourth quarter, to be able to fight through and get through that, you can see the weight off these guys’ shoulders, even the last two days. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they do downstate.”
It figures to be a lot tougher than in 2022, when Canisius beat Fordham Prep by 36 points at ECC for its third state crown in six years. But Husband believes his team is still peaking and hasn’t played its best game yet.
“Oh, without a doubt,” he said. “I’ve never had a team that was clicking on all cylinders like that (’22 team). And I think we’re really close to moving in that direction. This is one of the better defensive units we’ve had. Practice is proving it, but we’re close to having our best game. But we have not yet.
“Right now, we’re understanding our roles, taking good shots, clean with the basketball. So, I’m really looking forward to the next few days.”